Air conditioning system



July 11, 1944. w. H. CARRIER AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM Original Filed Aug. l2, 1959 INVENTOR. AAM@ /74 a A- Patented July ll, 1944 AUNITED STATES PATENT omer;

AIB CQNDITIONING SYSTEM wuus n. cmi'er, syn-aww, N.- Y., mm1 u Carrier Corporation, Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware origin-1 application' 1mm 1:, 1939, serai No.'

Divided and this r s cuan. (ci. zsfz-s) This invention relates to indicating control devices and is a division of application Serial No. 289,749, led August 12, 1939.

'I'he generalobject of the invention is to provide an indicating device for a control valve serving an air conditioning unit, arranged to indicate how conditioning fluid may be increased or decreased in flow to the unit,` although the uid may be'hot or cold under different operating conditions.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of a plurality of indicating symbols on a plate adapted to reflect the flow of heated or cooled iluid through a valve serving an air conditioning unit, said symbols serving to instruct an operator how to obtain a colder or warmer condition regardless of the character of the fluid being circulated to the unit.

A further feature 4provides for the use of a plurality of circuits for circulating hot or cold fluid to a valve serving a heat exchanger unit whereby a positive guide will be aorded to an application July 7,

ing eifect of the coil 38 so as to insure more accurate control.

Through the top cap |2201 the valve there extends adjustable rod |23 bearing against a iiangeddisc or the like |24. 'I'he rod |23 is provided with a control handle I I2 for use in adjusting the setting of the valve.

The flange |25 is secured in a gas-tight manner to the upper extremity of an expansible bellows |25, the lower extremity of the bellows being secured in a fluid-tight manner to a disc |23. 'I'he pressure tube |28 leads from the'inoperator desiring to vary the heating or cooling meral |03a designates a valve capable of automatically modulating the heating or cooling effect of a, coil 99 ofa local air conditioning unit. 'I'he control element which is preferablyused in commotion with the valve comprises a length of finned tubing Il! of the type commonly used in the construction of heat exchangers. One end of thel tube is sealed and the other end connects with a pressure tube which extends within the housing |2| of the valve III-3a. The control element ||9 is illled with a volatile uid adapted to expand and contract with Vchanges in temperature, such as ether, and the control element IIS is placed within and in the path of air intaken within the unit containing heat exchanger coil 99 so that the control element renects the temperature within the enclosure served by the unit. The control element is preferably shielded in any desired manner from the heating or coolterior of the thermal element Il! to the interior of the bellows so that as the temperature af.

fecting the control element ||8 is varied, the bellows |25 is caused correspondingly to expand and contract. A stud |21 extends within the interior of the bellows to decrease the free volume inthe bellows, as this insures a more prompt and sensitive operation of the valve. 'I'he disc |20 is connected to a rod |28 extending downwardly .therefrom and bearing a flange |29 at its lower extremity. 'Ihe rod |28 extends within a cup-shaped member |30 and the flange |29 provides for retention of the rod |28 within the member |30 so that as the rod |28 is raised the member |30 will be raised correspondingly. A spring 3I, extending between the bottom of disc |28 and the top of member |30, tends to maintain maximum separation of these two elements. The lower portion of member |30 carries a disc |3|a to which there is connected, in a fluid-tight manner. a sealing bellows |32, and also a rod |33 extending through a plate |34 to which the bellows |32 is connected. Thus, the operating fluid of the thermal element is prevented from escaping within the valve and also the water or brine controlled by the valve is eillectively prevented` from escaping within the va ve.

'I'he rod |33 bears downwardly upon a lever |35 pivoted at |38. 'I'he free end of the lever |35 bears downwardly upon a lever |31, pivoted at |38, at a point proximate the fulcrum |38. The lever |31 is adapted to actuate the valve stem |39 which is uperably connected through a starshaped guide |40 to a valve closure member ill, comprising a pair of oppositely arranged faces H2. The arrangement of levers |35 and- |3`| is employed for the purpose of multiplying the motion of the primary control rod. Thus for a given movement of the valve rod |33 the corresponding movement of valve rod |39 may be four oriflve times as great. This amplification makes for increased sensitivity and renement of control and makes it possible to maintain within very close limits the desired temperature in the conditioned enclosure.

The valve seat serving the upper face |42 is formed in a partition plate I provided between the upper connection Ill and the center connection I" oi' the valve. The seat I, cooperating with the lower face I I2 of the valve member Ill, is disposed between the central connection Ill and the bottom connection ill of the valve. Spring I 4l, operating on valve guide I, biases the valve in an upward direction.

Under summer operating conditions, or whenever cooling is required, a temperature higher than that desired requires an inoroogea now oi cooling medium through the valve. Under winter operating condltions,'however, a temperature higher than normal calls for a decreased rate of ilow of heating medium through the coil.

Lines I3 and O1 connect to and lead fromcenmi station sources oiheoting and cooling noia,

the arrows indicating the direction of now under summer and winter operating conditions.

Under summer operating conditions, cooling medium enters the valve through the central con'- nection lul. Assuming a demand for cooling to exist, the high temperature ail'ecting the control element Il` will cause depression of the valve lli and thus some oi' the liquid entering thevalve at connection l" will now upwardly and out of the valve through i and through line M1 to the heat exchange coil The conditioning medium passing from the coil is routed through line l to liunction I and then passes through pipe IIB, containing check valve illu, to line Il and is thus returned from the local unit. 'lhe portion of the conditioning medium supplied to the valve which is not so routed, passes downwardly in the valve past the valve seat I I4 and is discharged through connection |08 to line III through which it passes to 'hmction I, where this duid is joined with the iluid discharged from the conditioning coil 99 and is returned therewith to the line 8 1. As more conditioning is required under summer operating conditions, more cold liquid is circulated through the conditioning coil 9! and less is bypassed through i, and as less conditioning is required lesscold liquid will be supplied to the coil $9 and more will be bypassed through |06.

Under winter operating conditions reverse operation occurs, and in this case an increased temperature affecting the thermal control element Ils results in decreased supply oi' conditioning medium, which is then at a relatively high temperature, to the conditioning coil. Under winter operating conditions, conditioning medium is supplied through line 61 and passes through the branch line |52 containing check valve isla, to Junction |53. Part of the conditioning medium travels through the pipe I" and enters the valve at connection I I and passes downwardly therein and is discharged from the valve through connection |05. The other portion of the conditioning fluid passes from the junction |53 to the conditioning coil I9. is discharged therefrom through line i and through connection ISI, and

enters the valve at |06 and is discharged. therefrom through central opening lill together with the iiuid which was bypassed through connection l". As the temperature aiiecting the thermal control element I'I! rises, the valve III will be vlowered and hence more of the conditioning fluid will be bypassed from lill to |05, and correspondingly less of the conditioning iluid will pass valve from I to lll. Conversely. it the temperature is lower than desired, more o! the heating nuid will be routed through the conditioning coil and a lesser quantity will be bypassed.

When the valve controlling the action ot the heat exchange coil Il is controlled manually. there is no necessity 'for reversing the now o! the conditioning medium -through the pipes Il and t1 as in the case of automatic control in the manner Just described, since an operator can readily turn thevalve in either direction as required to bring about the desired change in the conditioning action. Thus, under summer operating oonditions, when the local unit is supplied with cooling medium, ii the temperature in the enclosure served -by the unit is too high the operator will depress the valve III so as to permit increased flow of cooling medium vfrom opening Ill to opening lill servingthe pipe lill, which delivers conditioning medium to the coil Il; and if the temperature is too low the operator will adjust the valve to raise the valve member Ill so that a lesser quantity of cooling medium flows through the conditioning coil 99. Under winter operating conditions, when heating medium is supplied to the conditioning unit, the operation is merely reversed. Thus, when the temperature in the enclosure is too high, the operator will raise the valve MI to diminish the supply of heating medium to the coil 99 through the pipe Ill, and ii' the conditioned enclosure is too cold, the valve Ill will be depressed to permit a greater supply of conditioning medium to the coil 9! through through the coil l and the lower Portion 0l tht 75 the connection Hi8.

During intermediate seasons, however, certain operating diiculties tend to arise. Thus, under certain conditions some of the zones of aconditioned enclosure may require heating while others require cooling. Under such circumstances an operator seeking manually to adjust the valve might have some difliculty in determining lwhether the unit was being supplied with hot or cold water. Thus, if the operator put his hand over the air outlet grille of a unit supplied with hot water, he might experience a sensation o! cooling arising from 'the relatively low dewpoint of the air and its relatively high velocity, although the delivered air might actually be at a higher temperature than the air in the room. The sensation of cooling might lead the operator to belive that the unit was being supplied with cool water and, feeling too warm, he would nat the required adjustment promptly and without experimentation. l

To this end there is preferably provided an arrangement such as illustrated in Figs. 2-4, which automatically indicates the direction in which the valve should be turned to provide for desired regulation oi' the room temperature, regardless of whether the unit is being supplied with hot water or cold water.

As illustrated, athermal bulb l is placed ill heat exchange relation with the water supply assai pipe |01. A pressure control line |55 leading from the thermal bulb |54 communicates with the interior of an expansible bellows |56. 'I'he expansible bellows |56 carries a slide plate |51 bearing suitable indicia indicated at |58. The slide plate |51 may be supported by suitable anges or the like |55 and the plate |51 is mounted just bcneath the top |60 of the conditioner casing. preferably at an end thereof. In the top of the conditioner casing are provided a plurality of apertures, one of these being designated |6| and the other |62. When the unit 53 is being supplied with cold water, the bellows |56 will be relatively contracted and the marking W or Warmer or the like may then be visible through the aperture |6| while the marking C or Colder or the like may be visible through the aperture |52. Thus, under summer operating conditions, or when cold water is being supplied to the unit, the operator will turn the valve handle ||2 in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 7 to increase the cooling effect, and in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 'l to decrease the cooling effect. Under winter operating conditions, or when heating medium is being supplied to the local unit 53, the bellows |56 will be caused to expand. This will move the slide |51 and the indicia visible through the apertures |60 and |62 will therefore be reversed. Therefore, if an operator under winter operating conditions feels too warm the valve handle ||2 will then be turned in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 3 to increase the conditioning effect, and if he feels too cool the valve handle will be turned in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 3. As will be understood, the valve handle is so arranged that adjustment of the handle in accordance with the position of slide |51 will effect the required adjustment of valve closure member |4I.

I claim: Y l,

1. In a valve and fluid circuiting arrangement, a heat exchanger, a manually operated valve device, uid supply and return lines, means for circulating cooled iluid through said lines to said valve device and exchanger under summer operating conditions, means for circulating heateduid through said lines to said valve device and exlchanger under Winter operating conditions, a

thermal bulb positioned in contact with said uid supply line. an -expansible bellows and pressure control line connected to said bulb, a slide plate attached to said bellows, a casing, said plate being mounted in slidable relation to said casing, a pair of apertures in said casing adjacent said valve device, indicating symbols on said plate, said symbols being arranged with respect to said apertures 'so that when cooled uid is circulated through said valve device the indicating symbols exposed to view through the apertures will be in a certain order from left to right whereas when heated iiuid is circulated through the valve device the symbols will be exposed to view in reverse.

2. In a valve and iluid circuiting arrangement, a hot and cold iluid metering valve, a heat exchanger, a plurality oi.' conduits connecting said valve and exchanger, supply and return lines, means for circulating cooled uid through said lines, valve and conduits to serve the exchanger in one circuit arrangement, means for circulating heated iluid through said lines, valve and conduits to serve the exchanger in another circuit arrangement, means connected to said valve for reiiecting the temperature of uid passing therethrough, an actuating device under control of said last mentioned means. a marker plate adapted to be moved by said device, a pair of symbols on said plate lfor use under summer operating conditions when cooled uid is circulated, another pair of symbols on said device for use under winter operating conditions when heated iiuid is circulated, a stationary plate in superposed position with respect to said symbols, a pair of apertures in said plate, and a single control device for regulating the ow of heated or cooled uid through the valve, said symbols indicating hcw said control device should be operated to obtain desired compensation for diflerences in load affecting an enclosure served .by the heat exchanger.

3. In a valve and luid heating arrangement, a

hot and cold fluid metering valve, a. heat exchanger, a plurality of conduits connecting said valve and exchanger, supply and return lines, means for circulating cooling fluid through said lines, valve and conduits to serve the exchanger under summer operating conditions, means for circulating heating fluid through said lines, valve and conduits to serve the exchanger under winter operating conditions, means for reiiecting the temperature of fluid passing through the valve, an actuating device connected to said last nientioned means and adapted to assume different positions depending upon the temperature of the iiuid being circulated, a marker-plate attached to said device, a pair of symbols on said plate grouped together, another pair of symbols on said plate grouped together, a stationary plate in superposed position with respect to said symbols,

a pair of apertures in said stationary plate, said apertures being positioned in such manner that one symbol of each pair of symbols is exposed to view under summer operating conditions, the other symbol of each pair of symbols being exposed to view under winter operating conditions, and a single rotatable control device for regulating the flow of heating or cooling fluid through the valve, the symbols being caused to indicate that the control device should be turned in a clockwise direction to obtain greater cooling effect under summer operating conditions and greater heating effect under winter operating conditions.

WILLIS H. CARRIER. 

